Are Jedi Knights Libertarian or Socialist?

Most political journalists are also nerds, so it was probably only a
matter of time until someone started debating the politics of Star
Wars. This particular discussion started when an official with the
Canadian prime minister's office sent out a press release announcing
that the forthcoming national census would be optional.

Jedi Knights Are Libertarian The release noted that, during the
previous census in 2001, 21,000 respondents listed their religion as
"Jedi Knight." The official presumably pointed this out to suggest that
these Canadians were protesting the personal question on the census
form. Canadian blogger P.M. Jaworski did some research
and found that Canada is not alone in this behavior. Jaworski concludes
that Jedi Knights, by opposing the privacy intrusion of the census, are
political libertarians.

According to 2001 census reports from
the English-speaking world, England and Wales led the world in absolute
terms, with over 390,000 (0.8%) Jedis. "The 2001 census reveals that
390,000 people across England and Wales are devoted followers of the
Jedi 'faith,'" the BBC reported
in 2003. England also has the distinction of having elected a Jedi
Member of Parliament. Jamie Reed, then-newly-elected Labour Party MP, commented
on the proposed Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill by saying, "as the
first Jedi Member of this place, I look forward to the protection under
the law that will be provided to me by the Bill."

Canada
also lagged behind Australia, with over 70,000 (0.37%) Jedis in 2001.
In May of 2001, the Australian Board of Statistics released a press
release to the media on the topic of Jedis. "If your belief system is
"Jedi" then answer as such on the census form. But if you would normally
answer Anglican or Jewish or Buddhist or something else to the question
"what is your religion?" and for the census you answer "Jedi" then this
may impact on social services provision if enough people do the same," read the press release.
The honour of most Jedis on a per capita basis goes to New Zealand,
with over 53,000 adherents, making up 1.5 per cent of the population,
second only to "Christian" at 58.9 per cent ("No Religion" accounted for
28.9 per cent, with 6.9 per cent objecting to the question).

Jedi Knights Are Socialist Reason's Jesse Kline believes that Jedi knights, the heroes of the Star Wars science fiction film series, are in fact big government liberals.

Although
the Jedis did assist the Rebel Alliance in overthrowing a tyrannical
emperor, it's clear that the Knights were originally set up to enforce
the Galactic Senate's big government agenda. Not to be outdone, the
empire continues its assault on private property. Security cameras in
Long Island caught Darth Vader
holding up a bank yesterday morning. If only police in Long Island had
census data showing the names and addresses of the local Jedi
population, they might have an easier time apprehending the dark lord.
And the circle is now complete.

Are the Jedi big government advocates? That's unclear. I think it would be more accurate to describe them as cartelistic --
they refuse to permit a free market in learning the ways of the Force.
After all, the Jedi Council's initial inclination is not to train
Anakin Skywalker despite his obvious talents, using some BS about fear
as a cover. Only when Qui-Gon threatens to go rogue do they relent.
The Council does not inform the Senate that their ability to detect the
force has been compromised. They're reluctant to expand their assigned
tasks -- they're keepers of the peace, not soldiers. Just as clearly,
their anti-competitive policies weakened their own productivity, given
the fact that they were unable to detect a Sith Lord walking around right under their noses for over a decade.

So, were the Jedi perfect agents of liberty? No, probably not. But
neither were they handmaidens to the greatest concentration of state
power in galactic history.

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.